However, the construction was extremely difficult. All work was accomplished by human physical effort alone, including breaking hard rocks using dynamite, picking the ground with pickaxes, and carrying crushed rock and dirt using handbaskets. Inside the tunnel was lit only dimly by hand lanterns, and a steam pump was used to bail groundwater out of the tunnel.

There was a self-sufficient effort to prepare most of the materials. Training sessions for workers were held during the evening, so that they could use the learned techniques in the construction during the next day. The project was carried forward through extensive efforts.

A total of 4,000,000 workers were involved in the construction. The construction adapted various technical methods, including an excavation method utilizing shafts, a technique employed for the first time in Japan. The workers faced a lot of hardships, such as groundwater flowing out while drilling the tunnel. After overcoming these difficulties, the First Canal was completed in 1890, following five years of the challenging construction. In Japan in those days it was common that foreign engineers were employed to design and supervise the large-scale civil engineering works. The Lake Biwa Canal construction was the first modern civil engineering project that was completed by Japanese workers alone, from design through to execution.

The water brought by the First Canal was utilized for many purposes, including power from water turbines, transportation by boat, irrigation, water for fire protection, and garden water. Among them, what made the biggest change in people’s lives was hydroelectric power generation, which was the most advanced technology at the time.

Initially, the Lake Biwa Canal was designed for utilization of the water turbine power. During construction, Sakuro Tanabe and a business person Bumpei Takagi went to the US to observe the use of water power. They were greatly inspired while inspecting a hydroelectric power plant in Aspen, Colorado. Tanabe earnestly persuaded the Governor Kitagaki, and the plan was changed in the middle of construction to cater for utilization of hydroelectric power generation. The Japan’s first hydroelectric power plant for utility services began operations in 1891 in Keage, Kyoto. The plant provided electricity to the city, providing power for electric lighting and machinery.

Entering the 1890s, the flow rate of the First Canal had become insufficient to meet the increasing demand for electricity. Also, infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever began to spread, as drinking water back in those days was obtained from groundwater. Advised by Sakuro Tanabe, the first mayor of Kyoto City Jinzaburo Naiki made a plan for the construction of the Second Canal.

Naiki finished his term before the plan was completed, and the second mayor Kikujiro Saigo took over the project. Saigo engaged in three major projects of Kyoto City: construction of the Second Lake Biwa Canal; establishment of a waterworks system; and road expansion and streetcar construction. The construction of the Second Canal was the core project. The construction began in October 1908, and was completed in March 1912, during the tenure of the third mayor Chikaharu Kawakami.

Paralleling the north side of the First Canal from its starting point in Kannonji, Otsu City, the Second Canal had a flow rate of 15.3 cubic meters per second. The entire canal flowed through either, tunnels bored through mountain rock, or through concrete pipes buried underground. This was in order to protect the water from pollution and utilize it for the waterworks system.
The Second Canal, which is about 7.4 km long, joins the First Canal at Keage.

The completion of the Second Canal increased the supply of water. To utilize the abundant water resources for the supply of clean water, Keage Filtration Plant was also constructed. The filtration plant employed a rapid sand filtration method for the first time in Japan, and started supplying water in April 1912, the month following completion of the plant.

In 1996, twelve sites related to the First Canal were each designated as a National Historic Site. In 2007, the following sites were designated as Heritage of Industrial Modernization by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: the Lake Biwa Canal, collections of the Lake Biwa Canal Museum, Suirokaku (aqueduct bridge) in Nanzenji Temple precincts, Keage Incline, Keage Filtration Plant, and Keage Power Plant.

Canal boat transportation was halted in 1951 due to improvements in ground transportation as well as from the impact of the war. However, boat transportation began again in 2018, for the first time in some 70 years, as a sightseeing boat project, the Lake Biwa Canal Cruise. The cruise boat sails at a leisurely pace on the First Canal, from Otsu to Keage, allowing passengers experience up close the appeal of the Lake Biwa Canal.

In June 2020, the Lake Biwa Canal was designated as part of Japan Heritage, entitled: “The Lake Biwa Canal: The Canal of Hope Connecting Kyoto and Otsu―Walk and boat along the canal to experience a day in the Meiji Era”

The Lake Biwa Canal led Kyoto to revitalization and even more advancement, enabling Kyoto to become what it is today. The canal still connects Kyoto and Otsu, and enriches the lives of the people in these modern times as it has in the past. Wishing for the revitalization of the city, our predecessors in the Meiji Era established the canal while facing and overcoming great adversity. Traveling along the calm stream on a The Lake Biwa Canal Cruise, or walking along the canal side while enjoying the views in different seasons and visiting related facilities, you can rest assured that the great achievement by people of the Meiji Era still plays an important role in the region.